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Forum: General Discussion

Topic: PLAYLIST are for NOVICE DJs - Page: 1

由于该帖子的部分内容已年深日久，可能包含陈旧过时或描述错误的信息。

You are not a good dj if you have a play list.. You are not spontaneous..... no creativity. IS THIS SO????

Let me know what u think
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when i go partying or playing on a gig with other djs.... i have this tendency to make a listing of the songs they play especially if what they play really catches my attention like WOW. Some of the djs had laughed and thought it was silly good DJs don't do play lists. However i don't mind being laughed at.

I also take a careful note of their playing style... if they talk in the next song... chop in the next song.. or blend in the next song.. their pull ups.. the works. I also watch the crowd response to what they play and see the lows and highs of the vibes they generate.

I go home practice their playing style and fine tune the playing list ...adding.. removing changing around as i see fit.

I now have quite a few play lists in my vdj etc. which i do use occasionally... well quite a bit. and also a few playing styles. to the point that u would think that it more than two djs playing...

70s 80s hip hop, rnb, reggae, soca. techno.. the works

FUNNY enough having playlist i think really help u to try quite a few experiments.......

1. allows u to be spontaneous and try quite a a few things knowing that if they don't work u have something to fall back to
2. less time worrying about the next 3 songs u want to play and concentrate a lot more on pleasing the crowd..
3. don't forget to play some great songs that you may not have remembered otherwise
4. don't have to be searching all over the place for the song
5. jump to another type of music... based upon crowd vibes.. so u ahead of the game

One dj tells me that he does not need to create a playlist it is in his head.. I tell him... why keep it in ur head if u have the tools see them in front of you. Of course i use the history in vdj.. to recreate a lot of the experiments i have tried with success which i am pretty sure i would not have even thought of if i did not have the fail safe of a play list

As time goes i find that i don't really stick to playlists as such...but factor them into my gigs appropriately

What is your opinion on playlists.. and how do u make yours

 
发表时间 Tue 29 Jul 08 @ 6:43 pm
I've never played from a playlist, might have a few tracks or ideas in my head (always done this from my vinyl days) that I start out with, and see how it goes from there. The crowd might like what I'm playing and you can build and go on from there, then again they might not. So you have to change the mood, it's all about crowd reaction for me.

DJ's who play from a playlist are not crap in my book, they just do things differently to me, simple as.



 
dat is true.. but can there not be an instance for example.. that certain songs do go well together... instantly i dont want to forget it so i put in a play list instead of mentally remembering.. or lets say you are experimenting playing by air and then u think try something and it works well... playlists help preserve some of these ideas
 
This is a subjective issue. If we are talking about a club over a long period of time you do need to read the room, and adapt on the fly. If this is for a one, or two hour set for broadcast, or recording for a demo, you want it to be as good as it can be. Let me ask you this, do you think Jazzy Jeff or Tiesto walk on and do their thing cold? So, the answer you the question is, it depends on the circumstance.......
 
quite true...... TearEmUp

but can there not be a balance between reading the crowd and using playlists
Now... remember the idea is not being totally dependent on the playlists as such

but just having them as backup sometimes helps. I deviate a lot from my playlists... but after i gig i do take the time to change dat history into a playlist as well that is different. so that i have a few ideas as keepers too

 
PLAYLISTS are for top 40 radio stations. And top 40 radio stations SUCK after 2 days, and 11 years of age!!

Absolutely TRUE! A true DJ plays from the hip - reads the crowd / dancefloor. It is your crowd that inspires what winds up being played and how its played.
 
I don't use a playlist, but I do have cheat sheets. I listen to all my music as it comes in and and make a list of the tracks I think are hot. I have an ongoing list that I go through every 6 months and delete the tracks that I was wrong about or time has deemed "old." I sort the list by BPM and use it as a reference if I get DJ block. It's there if I need it, but I play most my sets off the top of my head.
 
i use a playlist for weddings...

formalities and the bride and grooms songs they want me to play for them...
 
Man, this could be a never ending battle!!!! EVERYBODY and I MEAN EVERYBODY has a playlist of some kind... If you say you don't, you're kidding yourself. Now before you start throwing rocks through my window, please realize that there is a difference between a playlist, and a PRE-PROGRAMMED SET. When we used to prepare for our gigs, we would bring the records that we thought would fit the party, or club we were playing at. We picked and chose from all our collection and put them in the 'coffin' and we knew where each song was. That was a "playlist". Whether we started at crate #1, or #5, depended upon how you wanted to start your set.... After that, you read the crowd reaction, and changed crates. Those crates were your playlist. Maybe they were sorted by bpm, or by artist. Either way, it was still a "play" list, because it was a way of 'organizing' your music. I also used to keep it all in my head. Knowing which songs mixed together nicely, which had long breaks, short intros, ect... But I always kept the records in bpm order, so I could pull a record off the shelf, and automatically know where to put it in my coffins. These days, with a lot more songs in one place, it would be hard not to forget a song because it's not physically in front of you, it's in a data base. Now, I do know some djays that will play the same mix every time they play, and they sound great.... the first time. But ask them to do something different.... Total Chaos!!!!!! That is PRE-PROGRAMMED..........
 
i know an international dj personally, who uses a playlist. and know of others who make their mp3 data cds in the order of what they will play on the night. i dont think this is a bad thing - always good to be prepared - the better djs will know when things arent going well and change and try something different.

i dont have any sets written down but i have some in my head - songs that i know work well together and that people know. if a particular song flops its always good to have something on your mind to put on next.

edit - awesome thread by the way - real good discussion. good to hear this stuff and not all about problems people are having! good stuff!
 
Very well said djikenelson. Didn't really consider the difference of a playlist vs. pre-programmed.
 
tmace64 wrote :
A true DJ plays from the hip - reads the crowd / dancefloor. It is your crowd that inspires what winds up being played and how its played.


(1) A true Dj (a professional being paid to do his job not a bedroom dj playing to ammuse himself and his friends) does what best makes the owners (or clients for mobile dj's) happy and making money.....plainly, simply and nothing more

(2) A BAD Dj is one who thinks he knows it all and does not learn from others...old and new

(3) A GOOD TO EXCELLENT Dj s uses whatever tools and styles (and that includes playlists) he has at his disposal and feels he can use to accomplish #1 above

(4) Anybody that thinks otherwise is an idiot or an egomaniac or both

I know Djs who know music and crowds so well they can pre program a whole night for 4 hours and get 10 times the response from the crowd that idiot and egomaniac djs get during their "hot" 16 song set. The reason is because the program Dj has the talent, psychology, experience, music knowlege and knows his craft so well and the idiot Dj just wants to scratch the latest releases and mash ups nobody knows or cares about just to impress his other idiot friends.
 
I do have a few tracks in my head before the evening starts, but exactly playing a pre-prepared playlist is completely nonsense. You can never know what the crowd will like and what not.

The biggest playlist i ever followed on an evening was 3 songs. Nothing more. Improvisation is a quality of a true DJ. If you can't improvise, in music as well as every other time, you should quit the job and find a jukebox.

In my opinion: Automix has never really belonged in this software. This is a LIVE PERFORMANCE tool, and if you use Automix for live performance, i pity you. And if i meet you on a gig when i see you doing it: i will laugh in your face... hard. Automix might be good enough to listen to at home when you're doing something else... But LIVE? Comon, you must be kidding me...
Yes even during diner at a party, your job is to play tracks that create the requested atmosphere. It might be boring, you might be bored to death, but that's your job.
 
I use rough playlists with songs that always go over well for said demographic, but I leave it open for requests & improv.. It's worked pretty well for me, I have yet to recieve any complaints on my performance in the field. I have started using automix, but only for lounge music where the music is pretty mellow. It all depends on the event and what your clients want out of your performance, there may actualy be times that a client wants a strict playlist played and since they're the one signing the check, they are the boss;^]
 
VanStino wrote :
In my opinion: Automix has never really belonged in this software. This is a LIVE PERFORMANCE tool, and if you use Automix for live performance, i pity you. And if i meet you on a gig when i see you doing it: i will laugh in your face... hard.


I don't use automix for beat mixing but for breaks, happy hour, before my set, etc. it is used...however....that aside......If you are in another Dj's club and HE's WORKING (and presumably being paid) and you're in there NOT WORKING (obviously not being paid) laugh all you want 'cause it seems to me the one making the money and doing the gig gets the last laugh!!!!!!!

....oh yeah, if you're such a great Dj you must appreciate other good Djs so if he's so bad why are you and the rest of the crowd there?

When are Djs going to respect what other Djs do and quit worrying about what they use for their tools. If the end result sounds good and accomplishes the club's objectives I don't care if the other Dj is using two tin cans and a string for speakers, a trash can lid for a turntable and a nail for a needle...if he makes it rock it's all good in da hood..........
 
dj-e-lectric wrote :
....oh yeah, if you're such a great Dj you must appreciate other good Djs so if he's so bad why are you and the rest of the crowd there?


Drinking and getting laid.
 
Great topic, but some of us might try not to take or make things so personal. This is a learning opportunity for everyone, if you already know the answer be quiet so the rest of us can learn. Add constructively or pipe down. That's courteous and professional.
Thanks, and carry-on.
 
VanStino wrote :
Drinking and getting laid.


In the immortal words of Colonel Tom Parker (former manager to Elvis) "Thats good for me, now what about the boy?"
 
VanStino wrote :
dj-e-lectric wrote :
....oh yeah, if you're such a great Dj you must appreciate other good Djs so if he's so bad why are you and the rest of the crowd there?


Drinking and getting laid.


Well then, it seems as though his playlist is meeting it's objective...PS if you aint' drinking, you ain't trying!
 
dj-e-lectric wrote :
Well then, it seems as though his playlist is meeting it's objective...PS if you aint' drinking, you ain't trying!


VanStino: "Hey do you think the music sucks too?"
Sexy lady: "Yeah yeah it does!"
VanStino: "Well we'll always have the booze, let me buy you a drink."
Sexy lady: "Oh okay i'll have the most expensive cocktail on the map."
VanStino: "Uhh I... well that's... ... Sex at my place?"
Sexy lady: "Okay"

True story, slightly modified.
 
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